After opening higher, Asian stock markets were lower Friday with China's Shanghai index sinking more than 3 percent as concerns about the effect of China's stimulus measures surfaced, renewing fears about slowdown in the world's second-largest economy, AP reported. Japan's Nikkei 225 erased earlier gains, losing 1 percent to 17,065.27. South Korea's Kospi also slid 1.3 percent to 1,875.74 while Hong Kogn's Hang Seng dropped 1.3 percent to 19,572.56. China's Shanghai Composite Index slumped 3.1 percent to 2,916.04. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 also gave up earlier gains and fell 0.3 percent to 4,892.80. Stocks in Southeast Asia were mixed. U.S. stocks finished higher with the biggest gain in over a month thanks to a rally in energy stocks. The Dow rose 227.64 points, or 1.4 percent, to 16,379.05. The Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 31.56 points, or 1.7 percent, to 1,921.84. The Nasdaq composite added 88.94 points, or 2 percent, to 4,615. The price of crude oil fell again after a rebound in the previous session although it still traded above $30 a barrel. Benchmark U.S. crude fell 59 cents to $30.61 per barrel in New York. The euro rose to $1.0879 from $1.0859, while the dollar fell to 117.83 yen from 118.20 yen.
